Lawyers typically have many clients. Many ICBC claims lawyers work both sides of the fence, that is, they represent injured people in advancing ICBC claims on some files and on other files they represent ICBC in defending against ICBC injury claims. Other lawyers restrict their practice to one side or the other.
Many people see lawyers working both sides of the fence as an inherent conflict of interest. They want their lawyer to represent injured people only, not insurance companies. Others like the idea that their lawyer also represents ICBC sometimes because perhaps such a lawyer has better insight into the defence tactics used by ICBC.
The problem, and the reason why I write this post, is that sometimes the potential conflict of interest is much worse than simply having a lawyer who works both sides of the fence. It is a problem of a lack of informed consent.
ICBC has contracted with many law-firms in BC for services in the defence of motor vehicle accident claims. ICBC requires some of these firms to sign an agreement called the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA).
Under the SAA, law firms whose lawyers are retained to act for ICBC are not permitted, when representing a plaintiff on another file, to sue ICBC for bad faith or to seek punitive, aggravated or exemplary damages against ICBC.
Specifically, the SAA states that “ICBC may impose penalties against the firm…..(where) the firm, or any member of the legal team, in the performance of the legal services, fails to act in the best interests of ICBC or ICBC’s insureds…”
Also, that “members of the legal firms team will not directly or indirectly: commence or participate in claims or actions, or counsel or assist others in bringing claims or actions against ICBC which include allegations of bad faith, or claims for punitive, aggravated or exemplary damages.”
What a conflict of interest!
The Law Society of BC (the institution that governs lawyers in BC) has held that it is ok for a lawyer who represents ICBC and who is bound by the terms of the SAA to also act against ICBC in another claim. HOWEVER, clients need to be advised about this potential conflict of interest. Sepcifcially, “A lawyer (bound by the SAA) may properly act against ICBC for clients whose cases fall outside of the restrictions. However, a lawyer acting in these circumstancesMUST ADVISE THESE CLIENTS OF THE LAWYER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ICBC AND THE IMLICATIONS OF THE RESTRICTIONS THE LAWYER IS UNDER.
It is all about informed consent. There is nothing wrong in hiring a lawyer to represent you who has signed the SAA but you are entitled to know about these restrictions. If you know about these restrictions you may not want to hire such a lawyer and instead retain an icbc claims lawyer who is not bound by any contractual restrictions with ICBC. Ask your lawyer if he signed the SAA, you may be surprised by the answer.
If your lawyer signed the SAA and did not tell you this up front, you were deprived of an opportunity to make an informed decision. If this occurred you may want to ask yourself why your lawyer kept this information from you…?
Does Your Injury Claims Lawyer Also Act for ICBC?
I’ve written about this topic before and below I reproduce my previous post on Injury Lawyers working both sides of the fence. I’m doing this because I have been approached by a number of people who recently found out that their lawyer also acts on ICBC’s behalf in other Injury Claims. These individuals apparently were not told this when they first retained their lawyers and their displeasure in learning this after the fact is understandable.
Before reproducing my previous post, however, I’d like to share my usual advice when people are confronted with this situation. If you hired a capable lawyer who is doing a good job for you try to work things out. The reason being is that if you hire a second lawyer you will have to pay a second lawyer. If the lawyer’s failure to disclose this potential conflict of interest is a deal breaker then so be it, however, if it isn’t and the lawyer is doing an otherwise decent job save yourself the extra legal fees that come with hiring a new lawyer. While I certainly don’t condone this lack of candor (and in case you’re wondering, No I don’t act for ICBC) it is important to keep focused on the big picture which is whether your lawyer is doing a good job.
With that out of the way, here is my previous post on this issue:
You’ve been injured in an accident. You don’t feel comfortable with how things have progressed with ICBC in your settlement negotiations so you decide to hire a lawyer. You find a qualified ICBC claims lawyer and off you go. You assume, reasonably so, that the lawyer is acting for you and not ICBC, right? Not always…